The present invention relates generally to a sign and particularly to an illuminated sign incorporating a reinforced housing structure.
Signs for storefronts and the like are well known throughout the art. For instance, signs for indicating whether a particular business is open, i.e., “OPEN” signs, and the like are well known. Such signs have traditionally utilized neon for illumination of the sign. In such signs, a number of tubes are arranged to spell out the word or words desired such as, e.g., “OPEN”. Such tubes, traditionally glass, are filled with neon, argon, xenon, or other gases, and an electrical charge is applied to the gas by way of a pair of opposed electrodes at either end of the tube to thereby illuminate the gas and the tube. Such signs, however, suffer from a number of disadvantages. Neon tubes tend to be very brittle and susceptible to accidental breakage. In design, a neon sign must have an unobstructed hollow center with one or more ends for applying an electrical charge. The process is thus limited by the constraints of illuminating the tube with neon gas within, and the constraints imposed by the available traditional neon glass tubing which limits the design and appearance of the finished sign and requires a substantially complex fabrication process. Further, neon tubing is relatively expensive and thus replacement of the tubes is undesirable and cost prohibitive.
As such, it has become known to provide signs that simulate the appearance of neon tubing by using a plurality of light emitting members such as, for example, light emitting diodes (“LEDs”) arranged along the length of a housing and directed to emit light at a waveguide to thereby illuminate the waveguide in a manner that simulates the appearance of neon. Such constructions are advantageous with respect to traditional neon signs in that the energy needs of these signs are quite small thereby reducing costs to the user. Further, as compared to traditional neon signs, the waveguides and housing may be produced from a relatively lighter weight material other than glass, such as a plastic. However, such signs still suffer from certain disadvantages, in that they may not be as structurally rigid as the frame of a traditional neon sign, thereby allowing bending and other deformations due to forces when they are dropped or pressure is otherwise applied to their surfaces. In addition, manufacturing costs can be reduced by minimizing the material, such as plastic, used to construct the housing or waveguide when compared to current designs. However, the tradeoff is less rigidity and higher susceptibility to deformation or breakage. Thus, it is desired to provide a sign that overcomes each of the foregoing disadvantages while maintaining the high quality illumination provided by the sign.